IMPROVED SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN VEHICLES

摘要

A system for measuring energy efficiency in a vehicle includes means for measuring instantaneous consumption of stored energy in the vehicle, means for measuring the change of the sum of potential and kinetic energy over time, a processor and an application. The application includes computer-implemented instructions for calculating the energy efficiency of the vehicle with the processor by calculating total energy used per unit distance traveled. The total energy includes potential energy, kinetic energy and stored energy. The total energy is calculated based on the measured instantaneous stored energy consumption and the measured change of the sum of potential and kinetic energy over time. The system optionally provides data to a cruise control, autopilot or other system to automate optimization of the vehicle's speed, acceleration and deceleration.